Featuring elaborate vintage-inspired looks created by Integrity Toys designer Chris Stoeckel and a storyline he collaborated on with Alain Tremblay, the EAST 59th collection promises to take us back in time to chic and swanky 1950's New York, where the bold personalities of the talented individuals involved in the modeling, advertising and PR scene clash for a bigger share of the marketing pie! Everyone from newcomers seeking to be discovered and chasing the American Dream to socialites wanting a bigger presence in the high-society pages of top fashion magazines will stop at nothing to be noticed! This is where we come in... and where Victoire Roux will enter later...
The story goes like this:
Picture a woman, a man, a big city and a chance meeting that would launch the career of a lifetime.
As we furtively glanced at each other in the luscious decor of the Hawthorn Room, I immediately knew that a truly exciting path was ahead. My name is Evelyn Weaverton and my life completely changed the day he discovered me.
That is until she arrived on the scene, the mane of all my troubles, the one everyone in the industry loved to hate, Constance Madssen.
I found fame, drama and love on East 59th, wrapped in the arms of glamour. This Spring, follow our adventures and together we will shine like no one ever has
Luxurious Leisure
Constance Madssen™ Dressed Doll
Edition Size: 400 Dolls Worldwide
Suggested Retail Price: $135.00 US
Head Sculpt: Constance Madssen (New Sculpt!)
Hair Color: Raven
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-Applied
Body Type: EAST 59th 1.0
Foot Sculpt: Traditional High-Heeled Feet
Skin Tone: Cream
Classic Glamour
Evelyn Weaverton™ Dressed Doll
Edition Size: 400 Dolls Worldwide
Suggested Retail Price: $135.00 US
Head Sculpt: Evelyn Weaverton™ (New Sculpt!)
Hair Color: Flame Red
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-Applied
Body Type: EAST 59th 1.0
Foot Sculpt: Traditional High-Heeled Feet
Skin Tone: FR White
Captivating Cocktails
Constance Madssen™ Dressed Doll
Edition Size: 400 Dolls Worldwide
Suggested Retail Price: $135.00 US
Head Sculpt: Constance Madssen™ (New Sculpt!)
Hair Color: Luxe Blond
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-Applied
Body Type: EAST 59th 1.0
Foot Sculpt: Traditional High-Heeled Feet
Skin Tone: Cream
Glittering Gala
Evelyn Weaverton™ Dressed Doll
Edition Size: 400 Dolls Worldwide
Suggested Retail Price: $135.00 US
Head Sculpt: Evelyn Weaverton™ (New Sculpt!)
Hair Color: Brunette
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-Applied
Body Type: EAST 59th 1.0
Foot Sculpt: Traditional High-Heeled Feet
Skin Tone: FR White
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Constance Madsen's sculpt is rather insipid (like so many of the CI dolls.)
When I saw that they had a new body type, I immediately eliminated them from consideration. That was the issue that doomed the Katy Keene line as well. The suits designed for Katy's companion were stunning but the body just did not work for me with it's giant hands and enormous feet.
Collectors like me want variety but we also like dolls to be able to share clothes and shoes.
IMO the great majority of collectors currently populating the W Club are not, for the most part, vintage oriented. They like young, edgy fashion so I am surprised that the dolls are sold out on pre-order.
Chris is a very popular and talented designer. This would make an excellent line of 50's fashions to purchase separately if they were the proper size for Fashion Royalty dolls.
Why are their shoes plastic? That's a new backward step.
I enjoy some of these vintage fashions (I love Victoire Roux, but I suppose her line has been shelved...), so these caught my eye, but I missed the bit about a new body. Ugh :/ I still may try to get one of the outfits later to see if they fit any of the other ladies decently. I'm not really drawn to the dolls themselves.
ReplyDelete(I also balked at the Barbie-esque shoes. What's that about?? :/ )
I guess it's about the bottom line - $$$
DeleteI don't know that the majority of W club collectors don't like vintage but edgy. It would appear that way but I would not necessarily go by what the same 20 people post on the W club. I know quite a few folks who long for the old days where IT used to make more Old Hollywood inspired fashions and dolls. Ever since IT cancelled Monograms and pretty much discontinued Victoire, there has been a void in that regard. Katy Keene does not count because half her clothes were 80s inspired and they had those huge cartoony heads and faces and those awfully cheap looking Color Infusion bodies.
ReplyDeleteI think this line fills a much needed niche in the community and I know tons of people who have been longing for it but have just not been very vocal. Personally I found the Reckless collection hideous. The dolls themselves were great but the fashions were so horribly trashy and just awful in my opinion.
I think it is both great and wise of IT to provide variety with the kind of dolls and styles they offer. Now with Silkstones pretty much having been ruined by Mattel these past two years, I have missed some quality vintage inspired fashions. I think the edition size they picked is perfect and I am glad they are moving away from cartoon dolls (though MLP is still sitting there like a huge sore).
Luckily this body here is a combination of BOD torso and Industry legs and feet, so it will not be impossible to integrate with other fashions, like it was the case with Katy Keene. I think by finally losing the Jem line and also Color Infusion IT is more free to explore some of the things that drew people to the brand.
I look forward to seeing if the new fashions can integrated with existing FR dolls. I was horribly disappointed with the KK line as I do like many vintage fashions. It's not just the over-posters whose choices I base my opinion on, it's the offering of IT themselves. The lines you mentioned plus the Industry and the Nu-Face dolls make up a majority of their product. Poppy is in a class by herself - nondescript.
DeleteI understand. I am just thinking that IT really has misjudged and missed what its customers want. Just because they make those lines does not mean this is what a lot of people wanted and were asking for. Over the past few years I have seen lots of IT collectors move away from the company by either not buying as much anymore or just not renewing their membership and a lot of it has been attributed to IT making cartoon dolls (Jem) and playline crap like MLP and being fixated on the CI body for some reason, which to me has been a step down for them. I do think that despite the success of the Reckless collection people have missed the quality and vintage fashions.
DeleteAnd I wouldn't worry about the body not fitting into the rest of the line. Since it is not the gaudy Ci bodies, I am sure it will be just fine.
I wanted IT to be successful. They changed their focus and although I am still hanging on by a thread, I'm gone. You know I collect the 16" BJDs now but I love my FR, Monogram, Homme and a few other IT dolls. Unfortunately most of their original bodies sway in the wind. Such crap. Anyway...I hope this line succeeds because of Chris Stoeckel. He's a nice man.
DeleteI also hated the reckless fashions for the most part, I mean burnt clothes? ultra short shorts? and cropped jackets? I need a jacket for warmth! The dolls were nice though. I like that the Nu-Face sculpts and face ups are more mature.
DeleteThe 59th are essentially the same size as Victoire, who also has lovely clothes. I like that they aren't so ultra tall but a more true 1/6th scale (for my beloved dioramas).
I do like the vintage fashions from 59th street, they started this before with Lana Turner and Hollywood dolls but they never went anywhere. But I got those for the classic clothes, she had one of those tailored suits, and a hostess outfit too.
The Lana Turner fashions were fabulous.
Delete@Poppy: I agree on all points.
Delete@Terri: If they used Monogram body on these I would get all of them. They do have Monogram vibe, though outfits lack some design. I miss Monograms sooooo much :(
I love the Victoire line because it is vintage oriented. However, these dolls do not appeal to me at all. I love the clothes however and if they fit Victoire that would be great.
ReplyDeleteI think collectors will be hunting for the clothing and selling off the nude dolls.
DeleteThey remind me of '80s Barbie dolls in that the outfits can be put in different styles and they come with plenty of accessories. Barbie used to come with "styling guides" where you could see all the places you could tie the ruffle. LOL. I hope they continue to do well, but I won't be buying any. Don
ReplyDeleteThe accessories are cute but they don't make up for the sculpts and the plastic shoes.
DeleteT
I really love this line. I think it's remarkable and is reimisant of the classic Fashion Royalty from way back. A lot of collectors have been longing for something like this. It's so refreshing to finally see a more mature line as many of the existing lines IT is making are fairly juvenile now. This classic elegance never seems to go out of style. At least not for me anyway.
ReplyDeleteIn the Q&A with Chris Stoeckel last Saturday he explained the body is pretty much the same as the old Victoire body. They made some minor adjustments to the waist and legs but everything else is pretty much the same. Which means you can easily cross-dress with the now retired FR body as well as classic Babs and Silkstone. Most of the styles from the 50's tend to lean towards that pin up model look. With the FR2's smaller breasts, larger feet, narrower shoulders, and larger hips this line would then look strange with that particular era of styles and fashion.
Again, I'm very excited about this East 59th line. I think it's amazing!
I am pretty surprised these are sold. They are VERY expensive! People will buy everything...
ReplyDeleteCouture Dolls just started selling them or is going to sell them so they're not all sold out.
DeleteWe had to know molded plastic shoes were coming, right. Luxurious Leisure is a stunner. As for the CI body, man hands, BIG feet (and why the separate big toe?), and those square knees. But there were a few head sculpts that had personality. The Katy Keene line could have been so much more. But that body....... Still prefer Victoire. How many bodies are in the Integrity stable? Crazy.
ReplyDeleteI liked the fashions and the style- I could only find one split partner though.
ReplyDeleteThe sculpts are cute but a little boring. And I was disappointed in the lack of diversity. They did say that they would have some diversity later on- but what does that mean, next year? 2 years from now? Why why have 4 dolls with two of the same sculpts, all white for the first release?
I was shocked at the plastic shoes but realize not all of the dolls have JUST plastic shoes... it seems they traded nice shoes for more accessories and probably to avoid another price hike. I get that but still thought the shoes were distracting and a mistake. Not that the line had any trouble selling out.
The body is the same as VR as are the feet- so I think they probably appeal to VR and Barbie collectors. Or at least some of them (the editions were pretty small).
I was just thinking today why they didn't offer AA doll in this collection (Evelyn would look pretty good in that skintone).
DeleteGood to know on the body/feet sizing. Hopefully with this round selling out so fast, they'll take the hint that there *is* a market for this style/era!
DeleteI didn't know Fashion Royalty dolls existed until I came across one on eBay - and I was instantly hooked! I agonized over which one would be my first because they were so expensive but before I purchased one of the older FR dolls, the new FR2 dolls became available. My first turned out to be Bellissima Natalia at a good price after waiting another year to buy one. Personally, I like the FR2 body more than the FR body because it is more anatomically correct and looks more realistic dressed in haute couture fashions. However, I agree with everyone that IT lost its way when it comes to fashions. Most of them have been trashy or too edgy. When they announced that the Reckless line was based on one of my favorite movies, "Clueless" I was excited. I expected fashionably whimsical hats, a feather boa or two, and some great shoes. Instead, they were trashy fashions inspired by street walkers! I skipped all those dolls and their whorish attire. I missed out on the earlier FR glory fashion days of Lana Turner fashions and apparently many of their customers must feel the same so maybe that's why IT came out with the East 59th Collection. Like many of you, I'm also tired of the constant body variations. I invested a great deal on the FR2/FR2013 bodies thinking that would be the new body for years to come. IT has now changed the Victoire Roux doll body so it's as tall as FR2 and FR2013 but still has the older small feet. Think that will look ridiculous and why the plastic shoes?! At least it's not the CI body. I also agree with all the comments here about CI bodies with their large hands and feet. Agree it was the downfall of the Katy Keene line. Glad to know I'm not the only one who's disappointed that too many IT dolls are able to share clothes and shoes. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments.
DeleteTerri
I was a big fan of the Victoire Roux dolls and fashions, so I was excited when I heard about this line. Unfortunately, the designs are disappointing. They are more 1950s Hollywood than 5th Avenue. The dolls don't appeal to me at all. I hate the square jawlines.
ReplyDelete